Asclepias aurea

Asclepias aurea is an erect herb that produces slender new branches annually from a perennial rootstock.

The leaves are long and narrow, (over 8 cm in length) and linear in shape. Leaf margins are rolled under.

The attractive flower umbels appear in spring and have five bright yellow corona lobes (inner) with the (outer) star-shaped corolla dull yellow.

The species is distributed throughout the central and northern parts of South Africa.

Its habitat is grassland and stony hillsides. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; http://redlist.sanbi.org).